Pictures of Somebody
by Enthusiastic Fish
Summary: Tim gets a new neighbor and she's everything he could want...or is she? Ziva is suspicious of her from the start, but not even Ziva could anticipate the truth. Written for the NFA 2013 WEE. Already complete. 9 chapters plus an epilogue.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This story was written for the NFA 2013 WEE. While it's a casefile, there are a few McGiva hints...but this is not a mushy romance. I promise. :) I really set out to make this a story that would work as an episode of the show...and if the writers wanted to use it, I'd be okay with that.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own NCIS and I'm not making money off this story. I wish.

* * *

**Pictures of Somebody  
**by Enthusiastic Fish

_You are just an image  
__(That I can see)  
__You are not for real, you are not for real  
__You turn into a picture of somebody  
__(That I can see)  
__Someone I don't know, someone I don't feel  
__~Just an Image by Ace of Base_

**Chapter 1**

The two women sat together on the porch, looking across the street at the moving van. There were two professional movers and one woman. The woman was dressed in muted colors, not black, but hardly the flamboyant style she had been known for.

"Where do you think she's going?" one asked.

"Who knows? I don't care as long as she doesn't stay here."

The woman looked across at them and waved. They smiled and waved back but continued talking in low tones.

"She acts like she doesn't know what everyone is saying. It's quite the coincidence, isn't it? People were talking about the trouble they were having in their marriage and then...he's dead."

"Police said it was a stroke."

"A healthy forty-year-old man stroking out?"

"It's happened before."

"So have murders," the first one said darkly.

"Oh, come on. She was devoted to him. She followed him almost everywhere he went. He liked displaying her and she enjoyed being displayed. What's to keep her here now that he's dead? She doesn't have any family, and she never really made friends with anyone here. She has nothing here. She might as well go and try to make a new life for herself."

"I hope you're right...for the sake of whoever lives near her wherever she goes next."

It didn't take very long for the movers to pack away the woman's possessions. The house had a FOR SALE sign in front. By the next morning, the house was empty and the woman was gone, leaving almost nothing behind.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tim woke up Saturday morning and basked in the fact that he had the day off. A whole day off, to himself. He had no plans. He had no interest in making plans. All he wanted was to enjoy a day to himself. He got up, puttered around, took Jethro out for a run.

When he came back, he saw a moving truck parked in front. So someone was moving into the basement apartment. Tim was glad. He didn't like empty spaces. Besides that, the person who had moved out had been rather unpleasant. When people had gone down to do laundry, he would come out and growl at them for being too noisy...no matter how quiet they had been. In a small building like this one, they all knew each other and it was a problem when one person made trouble for everyone else.

Interested, he headed over to the truck, hoping to find out who was moving in.

Jethro nudged him. He wanted to go in and eat.

"Just a minute, Jethro."

"That's an interesting name for a dog."

Tim turned around and saw a woman about his age smiling at him. She had a rather funky haircut, but it seemed to suit her face and she was dressed rather conservatively. It was her eyes that drew him in, first. They were so blue they were almost purple.

"Hello? Anyone in there?" she asked.

"Oh, sorry," Tim said. "Where are my manners? Yes, it's a weird name for a dog. I didn't pick it. The person who foisted the dog off on me did."

"Foisted?"

"Long story. You're moving into the basement?"

She nodded.

"A basement isn't my first choice, but the location is excellent and so is the price."

"I understand completely. I'm Tim McGee, I'm in apartment 3."

She reached out and shook his hand.

"Hey, it rhymes!"

Tim chuckled.

"I'm Danica Laurence."

"Nice to meet you. I'm glad we've got a new tenant in the building. You're replacing someone we won't miss at all."

Danica laughed.

"No, really. He was a major grouch and didn't get along with anyone."

"Well, then, I'll have to make sure everyone likes me, then."

Tim grinned. "I've only known you for two minutes and you're already a huge improvement."

"Wow. Low standards, then, I guess."

"Not at all. I hope I see you around. Do you need any help unpacking?"

"No, I have movers taking everything inside," Danica said.

"Okay. If you need any help, just ask. I have the day off today and, unless I get called in unexpectedly, I won't be working tomorrow, either."

"Thank you."

The conversation stalled and Tim felt a bit awkward. Jethro took the time to nudge at him again. Tim took that as an indication that he should extricate himself from this before it got really awkward.

"Oh, Jethro is ready for breakfast. I've got to go...before I say something stupid and you feel like you have to avoid me...or I feel like I have to avoid you."

Danica laughed, her vibrant eyes twinkling.

"You're not doing so bad at all, Tim. Actually, I was wondering if you had been asked to greet me to make sure that I was okay."

"Nope. This is all genuine...for what it's worth," Tim said, gesturing at his sweats, his dog...and his awkwardness.

Before he was ready, she leaned in and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"I think it's worth a lot, Tim. Thank you."

Tim felt his face start to burn red.

"Y-You're welcome," he said.

He started to say something more, but Jethro's patience ended and he started yanking at the leash meaning that Tim was jerked violently toward the stairs.

"I've got to go," he said again. "See you around?"

"Definitely," Danica said with a smile.

Tim finally let Jethro lead the way back inside. He fed his dog and then showered and got ready for a day that had a much brighter cast to it than he had thought. Her eyes were almost mesmerizing. He'd never seen eyes like that. She was gorgeous and seemed very nice and open.

Then, a horrible thought struck him. He'd thought that about a girl before and she'd ended up being a killer for hire who had almost killed him.

_No, Tim, you can't think like that. She's nice and friendly and there's no reason to think that anything worse will happen than that she'll be interested in someone else and not you. ...and that's the most likely outcome anyway._

Well, as long as she didn't start dating _Tony_, he could deal with just having a friendly neighbor. He didn't consider himself particularly shallow, but he had to admit that it would be nice just seeing her around. She was gorgeous.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tim was sitting at his typewriter, wearing his sweats. Jethro was drooling on his leg. After his semi-successful conversation with Danica, he had decided to go back to what he had been considering for his day...just lying around. He often had other things he did, but he felt like he deserved one day where he just puttered. So he spent some time free writing. He pulled a novel off his bookshelf for the first time in a while and read. He tinkered with his computer parts, toyed with the idea of seeing if he could cobble together a complete hard drive with what he had lying around.

It seemed like ages since he had enjoyed this kind of day. Tony had called him once to see if he wanted to do anything and Tim had begged off. It really was nice to have no demands on his time for a little while...even if it was only for a day.

By the time night fell and he was ready to sleep, Tim felt really good. It had been a wonderful day..._and_ he had met a very nice woman.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Danica looked around the space she'd rented. It seemed so empty. Something was missing.

No...some_one_ was missing. That was it.

She searched inside the only box she'd packed and moved herself. She found a lock of hair, tied up with a ribbon. She kissed it gently and carried it into her bedroom.

Still, it wasn't quite right. She needed Joey back. She had to get him back. He had led her here, but he was still hiding himself.

"I'll find you," she said tenderly, stroking the lock of hair. "I'll find you no matter how long it takes me. We were meant to be together for always. That's what you told me in the beginning. I'll find you and we'll be together."

She set the lock of hair on the other pillow and curled up beneath the covers.

It had been a long day and she was tired. There was time to find him.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"Look, you have the bathroom. If you're going to keep it locked, then, why advertise that you have restrooms?"

Maren sighed. It wasn't her job to keep the restrooms unlocked. She just ran the front. If the men's room was closed and locked...

"I've been waiting for ten minutes. I knocked and no one answered. If you don't get that door open, I may have to find a tree!"

Maren grimaced.

"I'll see what I can do, sir."

She headed to the back and knocked politely.

"Hello? Sir, this is Maren. I work here. Are you all right in there?"

She had no idea how long the door had been locked. She'd just got in this morning and she only went in the men's room when the scheduled cleaning times came up. They'd been closed on Saturday because the city was doing some emergency power outages and then they were always closed on Sunday.

There was no response.

"Maybe there's no one in there, you know. But the door's locked."

Maren grimaced again. She wasn't enthused about the possibility of catching a man in a state of undress, but this customer had a point. ...and maybe there _was_ a problem in there.

"All right."

She pulled out her keys and unlocked the door.

"I'm coming insider, sir!" she called out.

Then, she opened the door.

...and she screamed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_Monday morning..._

Tim woke up and took Jethro out for his morning run. Or he _started_ to. When he got down to the building entrance, he ran into Danica. She looked like she was dressed for running, too.

"Good morning, Tim! How are you doing?"

"Morning, Danica. I'm fine. How was your first weekend?"

"A little lonely, but it's always like that when you move to a new place...especially alone."

"Is it your first time living alone?"

She shook her head. "No, but I'd been in the same place for a long time and I'm starting over here."

"Well, I'm letting Jethro drag me out for a run. You want to come with me? You're probably in better shape than I am, but you're more than welcome."

"Sure. Okay." Her face brightened and Tim found himself smiling back.

"If you need to leave me behind, you can."

"I haven't gone running in a long time," Danica said. "I don't like running, but it's good for me."

They started off, Tim setting the pace. In spite of what she'd claimed, Danica didn't act like she was out of breath at all during the entire time they were running. When they got back, Tim was sweating and Danica seemed perfectly cool.

"That's not fair you know," he panted. "I'm dying and you look like you're just back from a nice stroll."

Danica laughed. "No, I'm tired."

"Yeah, right."

"Really!"

"You don't have to make me feel better. I won't...until I get my breath back."

She laughed again, said good-bye and headed down to her apartment. Tim let Jethro pull him up the stairs. He got ready for work and then headed out, hoping that he'd see Danica on his way...but no luck.

Tim grinned to himself at his silliness. She was a very nice person, but that didn't mean anything more than that she was nice and friendly. He got in his car and drove off to work.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"...and so we're all really happy to have grumpy Gus gone," Tim said.

"_And_ the woman who moved in just _happens_ to be gorgeous, right?" Tony said with a leer.

"She's good-looking, yes, but she's also really nice, Tony," Tim said.

"How much time have you spent with her in the last two days that you know that already, Tim?" Ziva asked.

"Not much. She went running with me this morning. Didn't get winded at all...although she said she was. I think she was just being nice to me."

"Are you going to ask her out, Probie?" Tony asked.

"Not just like that. I don't know enough about her. What if she's coming off a bad relationship or something?" Tim said. "The last thing she needs is a near stranger asking if she's interested in a date."

"That is very considerate of you, McGee," Ziva said. "You should also get to know her better. You never know."

"Yeah, and your luck with women isn't exactly the best, you know," Tony said.

Tim rolled his eyes, but he couldn't really deny it.

"Your luck with women isn't a shining beacon, either, Tony," he retorted.

Tony winced slightly but rallied quickly. "Totally different situations. None of _my_ girlfriends tried to kill me."

Tim finished checking his email and was relieved to have a reason to leave. He stood up quickly.

"Cybercrimes needs me for a little while. If Gibbs wonders where I am," he said and strode away as quickly as he could.

As he took the elevator down to the subbasement, he grimaced. Why did Tony have to bring that up? He hadn't even mentioned the credit-card thief. He hadn't mentioned Abby (thankfully...that was all too complicated), but he mentioned Amanda...or whatever her name really was. He had rushed into it. He had let himself fall too quickly...and it had nearly got him killed.

He was being more careful, and besides, he didn't have any real indication from Danica that she was interested.

He wouldn't get pulled in like that again.

The elevator doors opened and he headed in to Cybercrimes.

"Hey, Boss! Glad you could come down!"

Tim smiled and pushed the other stuff to the side. He was never sure how he felt about Cybercrimes people...until they treated him like someone they admired. He didn't like it for long periods, but occasionally...

"I don't know how long I can stay, but put me to work!"

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Danica felt more than a little lost. It was just that she hadn't really been alone in such a long time. She had no need to work and she wasn't sure what she'd do anyway. She'd been trained as a veterinarian's assistant, but she hadn't done anything with that since she'd met Joey. So there was only one thing to do.

She had to find him.

Decision made, she got dressed and left the small apartment. She started to look around and walk. Later that day, she went to a bar and saw someone that was _almost_ him.

Almost was enough for now.

"Hi," she said. "I'm Dani."

The man smiled back at her.

"Jon."

"Are you having a bad day?" she asked.

"Got laid off yesterday. Trying to figure out where to go next."

"Well...for now, why not live in the moment?"

He smiled.

"With you?"

"Sure. Why not?"

He sighed. "I can't think of a reason."

"Good. Come on. Let's go."

Danica took him out of the bar. He was handsome, kind, and liked to look at her.

Almost.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"How was Cybercrimes?" Tony asked, almost politely.

"It's nice...in small doses," Tim said.

They were both trying to avoid getting back into the bickering of the morning because it had come dangerously close to things they both wanted to forget.

"McGee, Vance needs you in MTAC," Gibbs said gruffly.

Tim nodded and hurried up the stairs. He didn't need to ask what he was needed for. That was something he'd be told when necessary. He got into MTAC.

"Director Vance? Gibbs told me you needed my help?"

Vance turned to greet him.

"Yes. We've intercepted a coded message, and I'd like you to look at it. We're going to try and respond to it in kind, but we can't do that if we don't understand the code."

"Right. Content?"

"Information about passing off stolen ammunition."

"From the Navy?"

Vance nodded.

"Okay."

Tim sat down at a terminal and started to work. Ken Park, one of the technicians, leaned over.

"Tim, I'm glad you're helping us out. I know ciphers, but I don't want to be the one who has to do this. What if I get it wrong?"

Tim laughed softly.

"So you're happy to let me get it wrong instead?"

"Sure!"

They both chuckled and got to work.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tim worked with Ken for the rest of the day. When he finally got out, Tony was gone, but Ziva was still there.

"Hey, Ziva. Why are you still here?"

She smiled. "I had some work to do and I wanted to finish it before I left. Gibbs told me that I had to rewrite three of my old reports. I had just finished."

"Fun for you. I'm trying to recreate a cipher."

"I think...it is a good thing I am doing reports instead."

Tim chuckled.

"I'm glad to be heading home. It's been a long day. I can only stare at the computer for so long."

Tim grabbed his bag and headed for the elevator.

"Uh...Tim?"

Tim turned around.

"Yeah?"

"Could I get a ride with you?"

"Don't you have your car?"

"I had to get some repairs done. It will be ready tomorrow."

"Sure. No problem. Come on."

"Thank you!" Ziva grabbed her bag and followed him.

They headed out in companionable silence. When they got into the car, Tim looked over at Ziva.

"Is something going on?" he asked. "You're acting like you have something to say...but you're not saying it."

Ziva smiled. "I was debating whether or not I was overstepping."

"What do you mean? Just say it."

"I was worried about you."

Tim laughed a little. "Why? What have I done?" he asked.

"You like your neighbor. I was just worried that..."

"...that I've already leapt and gone too far, that I'll just get hurt."

"Yes."

Tim sighed.

"Believe it or not, I've already thought of that, Ziva. She seems very nice, but I'm not going to throw myself at her feet," he said, feeling a bit irritated.

"That is not what I meant, McGee. Really, I was just... You have shown a willingness to...try too hard."

"You mean I act desperate," Tim said with a grimace. "Thanks."

Ziva actually seemed a little distressed.

"No! No, Tim. I just would not want to see you hurt. It was not because I think there is something wrong with you."

"I shouldn't even have told you guys about her," Tim muttered. "I should have kept it to myself until I knew something more than that she's nice and good-looking."

"I am sorry if I made you feel bad about it," Ziva said sincerely. "I know that it came out wrong."

Tim couldn't be mad at her, but he was a little disappointed at the reaction to his mentioning a nice woman. Had he really made that many mistakes in his love life to warrant that kind of reaction?

"I am very sorry."

"Let's just drop it, Ziva," Tim said. "I'd rather not keep going with this. It's not going to get any better."

He smiled a little.

"I'm glad that you cared enough to say something...even if I don't like what you said."

They got to Ziva's place. Ziva paused and kissed Tim on the cheek before she got out.

"You are a catch, McGee. It is the women who may not be."

Tim laughed a little.

"No need to make me feel better, Ziva. I haven't even been rejected yet."

"I am not saying it because you need to feel better. It is true."

Then, she got out and headed inside. Tim sighed as he watched her go. This was not how he wanted to end a day of hard work. Now, he'd be awkward with Danica until he could forget about what Tony and Ziva had said.

He drove home and got out of his car.

"Hey, Tim! Have you met the new basement dweller?"

Tim smiled at the description. "Yeah, I have, Melanie. She seems nice."

"Much better than the grouch. Way better. I took her some cookies as a welcome to the building. She's kind of pretty, you know," Melanie said with a grin.

Tim flushed a little.

"Don't go there, Melanie. I'm not going to pursue anyone."

"Maybe she'll pursue _you_. I keep wondering why you're not married."

"It's because you're already taken, Melanie."

She laughed. She'd become engaged just a couple of months before and they teased each other about it quite a bit.

"Right. Good night, Tim."

"Be good!" Tim said with a laugh.

He went into his apartment and was nearly taken out by Jethro's enthusiastic greeting.

"Hey, Jethro. Did you enjoy the dog walker today?"

Jethro barked happily. Tim felt his mood lift. He needed to take Jethro out for a run, but he felt better now than he had.

He changed and then headed out. Lo and behold, he ran into Danica. She was just coming in from somewhere else. She smiled at him.

"Hi, Tim!"

"Uh, hi."

"Is something wrong?"

Tim grimaced a little. "Uh...no. I just have people trying to give me advice by implying that I don't know anything. Still in a bit of a bad mood. I'm hoping Jethro helps me cheer up."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"How was your day?" Tim asked, inwardly wincing at how trite that sounded.

"Semi-successful."

"Are you looking for a job?"

"No...just trying to get myself settled. I'll do some job hunting in a while. Right now, though, I just need to feel right. Not quite there yet."

"Well, if you need any help, just ask."

"Oh, everyone here has been so welcoming. I'm glad I came here."

"But it's not home yet," Tim suggested.

"Exactly. I think it could be...eventually."

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

Tim smiled and headed out of the building. He jogged with Jethro and came back feeling even better than he had been before. He saw the lights on in the basement apartment and he smiled again. Danica just seemed very nice.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Danica went into her bedroom and opened her jewelry box. She smiled. It was kind of empty right now, but she'd fix that.

She pulled a piece of cloth out of her pocket. With a gentle smile she unwrapped it, revealing a clump of hair. She opened a drawer on the jewelry box and took out some ribbon. Carefully, she tied a strand around the clump of hair. Then, she added it to the box. She pulled out her special lock of hair and compared it.

Not right yet.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Tim was checking the news headlines as he did every morning when he saw one for Silver Spring. He pulled it up.

_Maryland man declared missing_

As he read the article, he noticed that the man had disappeared at a bar not far from his place. It was a little chilling to have that kind of thing happening so close to him.

Jethro seemed to sense his unease and whined at him.

"It's okay, Jethro. Just strange is all. He'd just been laid off. His friends said that he was feeling rather discouraged. I wonder if he committed suicide. It's too bad. I hope he's all right."

Jethro nudged him.

"Right. Right. Time to run. Let's go. Maybe Danica will join us again. I don't know if _you_ care, but I wouldn't mind."

Tim chuckled, closed the browser and got ready to go running. When he got out, Danica wasn't there. Tim was tempted to linger but he chided himself for being ridiculous. Instead, he just headed out. While he was running, he thought he saw Danica, but he didn't pursue her. He continued on his usual route and then back to the apartment.

He got ready and went to work.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"I don't know why you're hiding still, Joey, but I won't stand for it," Danica said.

There was no response. She walked over to him and carefully cut off a lock of hair. It was close, but perhaps not quite close enough. She would try again.

"Oh, Joey. Where are you?" she asked.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"Did you see this, Probie?" Tony asked as Tim walked in.

"See what?"

"Some guy was found dead in a restroom at a gas station in Massachusetts. The girl working the counter found him when another customer wanted to get into the bathroom."

"Wow. Any suspects?"

"Not that ZNN said."

"What killed him?"

"They didn't say."

"Weird. It must be a different method than a gun or a knife."

Tony nodded.

"Why did it make ZNN? I mean, it's too bad, but..."

"Because it's the second one in a few days and they think they're related."

"A serial killer, huh? Did they say why they think the two are related?"

"Nope. Must be keeping that to themselves for now."

Tim sat down and pulled up the news story on his computer. It was worse than the missing man he'd seen this morning. Two men killed within a couple of days of each other...somehow related. He was glad they didn't have to investigate it. The more gory cases still had the power to disturb him sometimes.

"So...how's your new girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend, Tony," Tim said, rolling his eyes. "I told you already. She's just nice."

"And good-looking."

"Yes, and good-looking. Look, just drop it, okay?"

"Come on, Probie! Admit that you're attracted to her!"

"Between you and Ziva, I'll be lucky if I can get one word out without feeling like an idiot."

"What do you mean? Ziva hasn't been teasing you."

"No, she just thinks that I'm so desperate for a girlfriend that I'll dive in too far," Tim said with a grimace.

"Ouch, McGee. She told you that?"

"She tried to be nice about it, but yeah. Basically."

"Well, then, you should go after her and prove Ziva wrong."

"No. No, I'm just going to keep on as I have. If I see any hint that she's actually interested, then, maybe...but I'm not throwing myself at her. That doesn't work so well for me."

"Agent McGee."

Tim looked up and saw Vance.

"Can you come and assist in MTAC again, please?"

"Of course, Director." Tim looked at Tony for a moment and then headed up to work on the cipher some more.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"Where is McGee?" Ziva asked when she got to the bullpen.

"Up in MTAC again. Hey, that wasn't cool to tell the Probie he's too desperate to think clearly about a girl."

"What?"

"You should at least let him fail first."

"I did not say that."

"What _did_ you say?"

"That this woman may not be all she seems. You never know at the beginning."

"Well, it wasn't very nice."

"Usually, if someone seems too good to be true, they are."

"But you're not even letting him decide that for himself."

"I just told him what I thought. I did not force my ideas on him."

Tony shrugged. "Well, I don't blame McGee for being bugged by it. Sure, you could be saving him some grief, but still...it's not nice to imply that he can't hook up with anyone."

"And you do not do the same thing?"

Tony grinned. "Yeah, well, he expects it of me. You're supposed to be his friend. If _you_ say it, then, it's what you really think. When _I_ say it, it's a joke because that's all I ever do."

"I did not want to make him feel bad, but why would it be better to let him blunder into something without a warning?"

"When it comes to trying to pick up girls...unless you _know_ that something is wrong, it's better...because otherwise, you're questioning his manhood!"

"Men are so strange," Ziva said with a grimace.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tim ended up in MTAC most of the day, and Tony and Ziva were sent out to do some canvassing for an old case of theft that had come up again.

By the time they got back, Gibbs had already sent Tim home. Tony and Ziva were released soon after.

Ziva had been thinking about what Tony had said all day. There was no question that Tim had been upset by what she had said. Perhaps it would be better to apologize. She didn't want to make things worse by having Tim thinking she thought so little of him, even if it hadn't been her intention at all.

She decided to stop by his apartment on her way home in order to apologize for what she'd said the day before.

When she got there, she parked and started in. She saw a beautiful woman coming out at the same time. The woman gave her a friendly smile.

"Hello, do you live here, too?" she asked. "I'm afraid I haven't met everyone yet."

"No. A friend of mine does."

"Oh, really? Who?"

"Tim McGee."

Her smile widened. "Oh, he's such a nice person. He welcomed me as soon as the moving truck started getting unloaded. I'm Danica."

"What brings you to DC?"

There was the merest flicker in her expression, but she remained as friendly as ever.

"I needed to...find myself. It wasn't going to happen where I was."

"What happened? ...if you do not mind my asking?"

"Have you ever just had everything you thought made sense in your life vanish? I'm here looking to find that sense again." She sighed for a moment...and there was that flicker in her expression again.

Ziva wasn't sure what it was, but it put her on edge for some reason.

"Will you succeed?"

"I'm going to try," Danica said. "Actually, I have to go out. It was nice to meet you...?"

"Ziva."

"Ziva. Very nice to meet you."

"I am glad to meet you, too."

Ziva walked inside and up to Tim's apartment. She knocked politely on the door. There was a pause. She heard Tim walk to the door, but there was that pause before he opened it.

"Ziva...what brings you here?"

"May I come in?"

"Of course."

Tim stood aside and Jethro came over to greet her. Ziva smiled and petted him.

"Is there something you need?" Tim asked.

"No. I wanted to apologize for what I said to you yesterday."

"Oh." Tim didn't seem very happy about revisiting that topic. "We don't need to get into that again, Ziva."

"Yes, we do. You are my friend, and I hurt your feelings. I did not want to do that."

"It's all right, Ziva," Tim said, quickly. "Really. It's okay."

"No. I was too quick to judge." Ziva hesitated. "I did see her as I was coming in."

"And?"

"I have a feeling that there is something she is hiding."

"Why?"

"It is hard to explain. Questions I asked her that should be simple to answer she avoided. There is something about her I do not trust...but I will admit that it could be something that she just does not want publicized."

"Ziva..."

Ziva smiled. "I will not tell you what to do, McGee. I promise. I have said all that I will say."

"Are you sure?" Tim asked, but he had a little bit of a twinkle in his eye.

"Yes. Very sure."

"Good."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"So tell me why the FBI is getting called in on this," Fornell asked.

"_We've got two dead bodies. Both killed by an overdose of phenobarbital, and both missing a chunk of hair."_

"What?"

"_Both men were found with a chunk of hair cut from their heads. Both men have about the same coloring. Hair color is slightly different. The men were young, mid-thirties."_

"You're suggesting a serial killer."

"_Yep."_

"And whoever it is has been on the move."

"_Exactly."_

"South. Any bodies south of New York?"

"_Not yet, but we're watching for it."_

Fornell nodded. "All right. Get all the information sent to our office in New York. If we find another body, we may get the DC office involved."

"_You'll have everything we have by the end of the day."_

"Great."

Fornell hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair. He hated it when serial killers crawled out of the woodwork. If they were new killers, it was more likely that there would be at least one or two more victims before they could figure out any pattern.

And they already had two dead men to deal with.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Danica came back to her apartment. She was tired out. There had been more of a fight than she had expected. She had been forced to delay the final moment. There was a chance she'd lose out on it, but she was willing to take that chance.

For now, she set her alarm for early in the morning. She needed to get some sleep before getting back into battle.

There was a knock on the door. Startled, Danica hurried over and looked through the peephole. Then, she smiled. It was Melanie. She opened the door.

"Melanie, hello. Do you need something?"

Melanie laughed. "No. I found a couple of socks in the dryer. I was just seeing if they were yours. If not, then, I'll knock on doors as I go up the stairs."

"Let me see."

Melanie held out the socks.

"Oh, they _are_ mine. Thank you!"

"Good. I'm glad I don't need to go all the way up. Have a good night."

"Thank you. You, too."

Danica closed the door. People here were so nice.

If only that were enough.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_Two days later..._

The body was waterlogged, but still identifiable. When the unfortunate man was pulled from the Potomac, it was discovered that he was the one who had been declared missing the week before.

And he had a chunk of hair missing from his head.

The FBI was called and Fornell could see that this was going to wind up in his lap. Three men dead, all with the same strange m.o.

This was going to consume a lot of his time. He wasn't particularly happy about that, but he was more bothered by the fact that they had no idea where to look next. Was the killer moving southward still? Had the killer stopped? If so...why? If not, what was the final destination? Why the hair? Male or female? Personal or not?

Too many questions without answers. Hopefully, they would get some answers before they had another body.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

_One week later..._

Danica started feeling that panicky fluttering. Where _was_ Joey? She would have to try again. She had been so sure that Joey had been hiding in the last one, but no. She would have to get rid of him soon. If only it wasn't so hard to see inside.

She left her apartment and saw another possibility right as she got to the sidewalk. Maybe Joey was just making sure that she really did love him and that she deserved to be with him. That could be it. She smiled at the man.

"Well, you're a sight for sore eyes," he said.

"I try to be," she said, giving a flirty smile, the same one that had helped Joey notice her for the first time. "Danica."

"Joe."

_Joe!_ That was an omen if nothing else was. She talked with him for a few more minutes and made a date for that night. She was excited. Joey _had_ to be inside him. She went back inside her apartment and made some preparations. Joey would _have_ to listen to her. He would _have_ to see how much she loved him.

She got her special purse and made sure it was ready. Then, she started to prepare herself. It was hours away yet, but she was so sure that she'd finally find Joey again that she wanted to look her best for him. Joey had always said that she was a beautiful woman, the most beautiful woman he'd ever known.

She'd make sure that he saw that she still was beautiful and that she'd do anything for him.

Anything.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

_One week later..._

Tim got home and looked over his shoulder as he headed to his building. Two more men had disappeared, one had turned up dead, and both had been from the area around Silver Spring. It made him a little nervous although he hadn't mentioned _that_ to his teammates. They'd have a field day with that, and Ziva would likely bring up Danica again.

Speaking of... Tim smiled when he saw Danica sitting out on the front stoop.

"Hey, Danica. How's it going?"

To his surprise, Danica actually seemed pretty down. She sighed and then smiled.

"I'm getting discouraged, Tim," she said.

"About what?"

"Oh, it's a long story."

"Well, I need to take Jethro for a run, but if you didn't mind waiting, I have the time."

"Are you sure, Tim? I don't want to bother you."

"No bother at all! You never know where you'll get what you need. Even someone like me might be a help."

Danica's smile became more genuine.

"Okay. I'll go change."

"You don't have to on my account. You look nice the way you are," Tim said.

Danica laughed. "Thank you, but I like to dress up when I go out, no matter the occasion."

"Okay. Your choice...and I'll benefit."

Tim hurried up the stairs to his apartment. As he got in and fended off Jethro, his phone started to ring. He answered it quickly. He didn't want to keep Danica waiting now that he'd managed to finagle some time with her.

"McGee."

"_McGee, it is Ziva."_

"Hey, Ziva. What's up?"

"_You left so quickly this evening that I did not get a chance to invite you out for dinner."_

"Oh, thanks, Ziva, but I can't...and Jethro is about to rip me to pieces. I really need to take him out. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"_All right, McGee."_

Ziva actually sounded disappointed, but Tim figured that she wouldn't really miss him. They usually went out to a bar at least once a week. It wasn't as though he couldn't join them another day. He wasn't giving this opportunity up.

He took Jethro out and urged his dog to be quick. For a wonder, Jethro was okay with that. He didn't linger in the park and he was happy enough to go back home. Tim fed his dog and then changed his clothes. If Danica was going to look nice, he wasn't going to be sloppy.

Then, he went down to her apartment and knocked politely on the door. He was glad that no one in the building was seeing this. They tease him no end and he just wanted to hang out with her.

Danica opened the door and Tim was blown away. It wasn't that she was decked out, but she had done something with her makeup, something with her clothes that made her look absolutely gorgeous. He'd never seen anyone with such perfect looks. Her eyes definitely looked purple tonight.

"Wow," he said eloquently. "I feel so plain."

Danica shook her head but her beautiful eyes twinkled with pleasure at the compliment.

"You look very nice, Tim. I'm glad you like how I dressed."

They walked out of the building together. Tim suggested that they drive but Danica said that it was a nice night and walking would be good for them. Tim was happy to agree. They chatted lightly as they walked.

Danica pointed out a small bar. Tim had been there a time or two and he was happy to go again. They got a couple of drinks and then settled down in a booth.

"So...you're already seeming in a better mood."

"Oh, I am," Danica said. "Just talking with people helps me feel better. I guess that's why I was sitting out there. I wanted someone to talk to me."

"I'm more than happy to. What's going on?"

"Well...I don't want to have you get the wrong idea with what I'm doing here, Tim. I like you. You're a nice guy."

_Here it comes,_ Tim thought to himself.

"And I know that you'll jump to the wrong conclusion...and I don't want that to happen."

Tim furrowed his brow.

"What do you mean?"

"Well...I'm here in DC because I'm looking for someone. He left me a few months ago. I need to find him and find out _why_ he left. I just can't...move on until I can understand what happened."

"Move on?" Tim asked.

"Yes. Things can never be like they were, but if I could get him to tell me what was going on...then, I could have the closure I need. I've always had problems with people leaving, but usually they'll _tell_ me. Joey didn't."

"Could I help you?" Tim asked.

"How?"

"I'm a federal agent. I know how to look for people...when they don't want to be found."

Danica smiled.

"That's really nice of you, Tim. Actually...you remind me of Joey a little bit...when we first got together. He always seemed in awe of me."

Tim flushed. "I just want to help if I can."

"Maybe you can."

Danica then insisted on getting the next round of drinks. Tim tried to protest, but she wouldn't let him. So Tim sat back and smiled to himself. Maybe this would go better than he thought it would.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Ziva sighed. Tim had been too distracted even to notice that she had been asking him out. As time had gone on, Tim had continued to be interested in Danica, although he hadn't been especially expressive. The teasing he had faced and would face had led to his keeping many of his thoughts to himself, and Ziva had discovered that she really missed spending time with him. So she had called him...and been blown off. She would have to try talking to him tomorrow. She didn't want to lose Tim as a friend simply because people were too eager to tease him.

Tomorrow. She would take the time to talk with him tomorrow.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tim started feeling really strange.

"Danica...I think I need to get home. I'm not feeling my best."

"Of course, Tim. I shouldn't have kept you so long."

Her voice was kind of echo-y and Tim couldn't focus very well. Slowly, he got to his feet and felt Danica leading him. Had he really had that much to drink? He wasn't a heavy drinker. He only remembered two glasses. Neither had been hard liquor, either.

"Just stick with me, Tim. I'll keep you safe."

"Are you sure?" Tim asked, trying to stay awake. "I'm feeling pretty loopy. I promise...I'm not a really heavy drinker."

"I'm sure you're not. Maybe it just hit you harder than you expected."

"Maybe...I..." He lost his train of thought.

"Here, Tim. Let's get in the car."

"We walked."

"The car, Tim."

"Okay."

Tim slumped down into a seat. When the car started moving, Tim lost his focus almost completely. He really wanted to get back home and go to bed. He had never felt like this before.

When the car came to a stop, he couldn't even keep his eyes open.

"Maybe I'll just sleep...in...your car...Dani..."

"Joey always called me Dani. It's nice to hear it again. Come with me."

The door opened and an unexpectedly-strong hand pulled him to his feet. Tim wobbled and couldn't take in anything.

He was led to...somewhere. It didn't seem familiar. Then, he was eased down onto a flat surface.

"Just relax. I knew I'd find you, Joey. Relax and I'll pull you out."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Ziva pulled up to Tim's building and decided that she would just have to swallow her pride and _talk_ to Tim. She just wanted to spend some time with him...even if it was just for breakfast. She got out of the car and headed up to his apartment. She knocked.

There was no response.

She knocked again and then she heard Jethro start to whine and scratch against the other side of the door.

"Jethro?"

More whining and scratching.

Decision made, Ziva picked the lock to Tim's apartment and opened the door. Instantly, she had Jethro jumping all around her.

"Is he here, Jethro?" she asked. "Is Tim here?"

There was no indication that he was, but Ziva still pulled out her gun and walked through the apartment. She could see no sign of Tim there. After taking a thorough check of the entire place (not that it took very long), she dialed Tim's number.

"_Hello, you've reached Tim McGee. Please leave your name, number, you know the drill."_

There was a beep.

"McGee, it is Ziva. I was looking for you this morning and you do not seem to be at your apartment. Is everything all right?"

She hung up.

"Was he here last night?" she asked Jethro.

"Oh...I didn't know there would be someone else here."

Ziva whipped around quickly with her gun ready. Danica stood there with her eyes wide. She raised her hands up.

"I...I'm sorry for intruding. I...I thought Tim would be here."

Ziva sighed and put her gun down.

"No. Did you see him last night?"

"Only in passing. I was feeling kind of down and he stopped to try and cheer me up. He's not here now?"

"No, and it does not appear that he has been here for a while. Jethro was anxious."

"Do you think we should be worried?" Danica asked, earnestly. "Tim's been so nice to me. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to him."

Ziva considered. She was worried, but she didn't know if that was just because or if there was a genuine cause. Tim could have been called in to work late. He could be in MTAC where he'd been for the last little while, working on the cipher or whatever it was. She decided to call Gibbs. He would make that decision.

She dialed his number. While she waited for Gibbs to answer, she was vaguely gratified to notice that Jethro was sticking by her instead of going over to Danica.

"_Gibbs."_

"Gibbs, I am in McGee's apartment. He is not here, and apparently has not been here for a while. His dog has been acting anxious. I called his phone. He has not answered. Do you know if he has been in MTAC again?"

There was a pause.

"_Not that Vance told me."_

"Should we be worried?"

"_Who saw him last?"_

"One of the other residents of his building is here. She saw him yesterday. What time?" Ziva asked.

"Oh...uh...he was just getting home from work. Maybe seven-thirty? Maybe eight? Something like that."

"Did anyone else see you?"

"Not as far as I know, but I wasn't looking for that. Is Tim in danger?"

"Maybe." Ziva returned to her conversation with Gibbs. "Eight last night. I called him around that time as well. He told me that he had something to do, but he did not specify what it was."

"_Okay. I'll call Vance, but I'll send Tony over. Better safe than sorry with the work he was doing."_

"Very well."

Ziva hung up and looked at Danica again.

"How much time did you spend with McGee?"

"Not much," Danica said. "I went running with him once or twice because we happened to be leaving the building at the same time, but beyond that...just some quick conversations in the building or on the steps as we pass. My apartment is right by the laundry. In the basement. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"For now...we may have more questions for you, but you may leave."

Ziva phrased it as an option, but what she was really saying was that Danica _should_ leave, and Danica took the hint. She withdrew from Tim's apartment.

Alone, Ziva looked around at the space. Wherever Tim was, if something had happened to him, it hadn't happened here. She was sure of that. ...but she was also almost positive that something _had_ happened to him. They wouldn't find him working at NCIS and not noticing the time. They would find that he was gone.

Something had happened to Tim.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tim managed to open his eyes and look around. It wasn't anything he recognized. He started to sit up but two things stopped him.

One, he had absolutely zero energy.

Two, he seemed to be restrained.

He was a little breathless. He turned his head to try and take in where he was, what was going on. All that happened was that he saw an unmoving mass in the darkness.

"Hello?" he breathed.

There was no response. Was that mass a person or was it just...stuff?

Tim didn't know, but he couldn't really focus his mind on it. He was too tired. He was too worn out. He couldn't get a deep breath. He was so tired and his mind was muddled. He tried to move again and he failed. He couldn't think why.

"Where...am I?"

"Don't worry, Joey. I'll help you out."

The voice was familiar, but he couldn't think who it was.

"Hello?"

"I'm here, Joey. I know you're in there. You've got to be in there. Just stay put for a little while. I have to get rid of this one, first. I was so sure you were in him, but you weren't. I knew that I'd find you once you disappeared. I don't like being left behind. I told you before that I couldn't be left alone again. I couldn't do it. You said you understood."

Tim was thinking...or he was _trying_ to think. Something wasn't making sense. He couldn't follow it.

"Don't...understand...what..."

Fingers stroked his head, but somehow, he knew that wasn't a good thing.

"Just relax. Sometimes, it's hard, but we'll get there. Together. You told me that we'd be together, and that's all that I want in the world."

Tim heard the words, but it just didn't mean what he thought it must mean...and he was still so very tired. He fell back into the darkness, even though a part of him was saying that this was a bad thing.

The last thing he saw was the dark mass being lifted up.

It looked like a body.

"Sleep, Joey. Just sleep."

Tim couldn't resist the command.

He fell asleep.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"Okay, let's see what's going on," Tony said as he came into the apartment.

"I have gone over everything," Ziva said. "If something has happened to McGee, it did not happen here."

"Do you think something happened?"

"McGee is not here. No one seems to know where he is. He has been gone long enough for Jethro to be anxious. Something has happened."

Tony nodded.

"Gibbs called me on my way over here. Vance didn't ask Tim to come in last night _or_ this morning early, and Vance checked in MTAC. McGee isn't in there. His car is here, too."

"Yes. I feel that something is very wrong, and it will be better to figure out what it is now, rather than wait until later when we _know_ that something is wrong."

Tony nodded again and pulled out his kit.

"Then, let's get this stuff done here; so we can focus on the important things."

Ziva nodded.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"What do you think, Gibbs?" Vance asked. "Is this because of the work he was doing in MTAC or is it because of something unrelated?"

"Too soon to tell," Gibbs said. "We've only just started looking. I've put out a BOLO for him."

Vance nodded. "All right. Keep me informed. The work he was doing is sensitive stuff, and if someone is trying to get that out of him...we need to know."

"We also need to _find_ him," Gibbs said, pointedly.

"Yes, we do. Just accept that there are people who only care about that to the extent that it protects their secrets," Vance said. "Get going. I hope you find him."

"So do I."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Fornell had been staring at the information about this case for hours already. He had come in early and probably wouldn't be leaving until much later. He just wasn't seeing _anything_ to tell him where their killer was going to pop up next. He hoped that he was right and that the killer _had_ stopped in DC, for whatever reason. Why here? Fornell had no idea. Why kill men along the road from New England south and then stop in DC? There was already a team trying to find a clue about where the killer might have started from, but given the distance between the murders, they had a lot of ground to cover.

"Fornell, another body turned up...and we might have a witness," Sacks said as he hung up the phone.

"Another? And a witness?"

"Yeah. ...and that's not all."

"What else?"

"There's a BOLO out for NCIS Agent Timothy McGee. Went missing last night."

"Where does he live?"

Sacks looked at the announcement. "Silver Spring. Same as the first two."

Fornell sat back in his chair for a moment. That was too much of a coincidence, even for him. It figured that this killer would find a way to make his job even _more_ difficult.

"You going to tell Gibbs?" Sacks asked.

"Of course. It'll only be worse if I try to hide it...and if we're going to find McGee alive, we're going to need to move fast. Let's go. We'll talk to our witness, first, and then give the bad news."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"...and if junk gets dumped in the river here, it's my job to get it out again," Liam said. "When I saw someone starting to throw that big thing into the water...I wasn't going to wait there. I shouted at them and they dropped the thing and ran. I wasn't happy about that, but as long as I didn't have to fish it out of the river. I came over, opened the bag...and it was a body."

"Can you describe the person?" Fornell asked.

"Tallish, but no giant. They were all in black and I couldn't tell even if it was a male or female."

"You said the person was about to throw the body."

"Well...throw might be the wrong word. It was more like dump. They were struggling with the...the body. That's why I had time to see what they were doing. They were really fast. That's why I didn't bother running after them. If I'd known it was a _body_..."

"Right. Thanks, Mr. Owens. We might have more questions for you later."

"Sure. Whatever you need."

Fornell and Sacks walked over to the body. They had lucked out this time since the body hadn't gone into the river.

"Time of death, McKenna?" Fornell asked the ME.

"At least a day," McKenna said. "Body temp is the same as the air here. There's some corneal cloudiness, and rigor has all but disappeared. So I'd say that this man has been dead between 24 and 48 hours. Hard to get more exact out here. We can run more tests back in Autopsy."

"Do it. Make a good record of all this."

"I always do."

"Make a better record of all this. NCIS is going to be involved."

"Why would NCIS be involved? I didn't see that this guy had anything to do with the Navy."

"He doesn't," Fornell said grimly. "One of their agents went missing. Mid-thirties, tall..."

"Dark blond hair?"

"Bingo."

"You think it's part of this?"

"I don't want to take the risk that it isn't. Do you?"

"Not if NCIS is involved," McKenna said. "Gibbs?"

"Bingo. His guy."

"Oh...great. Well, you can be sure that this will be the most thorough report I've ever done. Can you at least let me talk to Ducky instead of Agent Gibbs?"

Fornell grinned. "I make no guarantees."

"Right. I'll get on all this as soon as I can. In fact, we're ready to transport the body."

Fornell gestured for McKenna to get going and he returned to Sacks.

"Well, Ron...let's go to NCIS."

"Joy."

"Well, at least you don't have to try and save DiNozzo," Fornell said as they headed to the car. "McGee's not so bad."

"I suppose."

Better to make jokes than think about it as a life that could be lost. They'd work as hard as they could, but it would be better if they could remain at least _somewhat_ impartial.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

There was a bright flash in his eyes. Then, another. Then, more bright flashes that weren't directed right at his face but were still almost painful.

"My dad told me once that pictures show you the soul of a person. Things they could hide everywhere else were revealed when the picture was developed. He loved photography. He took lots of pictures of me. He said that I was beautiful. My mother died when I was little and my dad said that he could see her inside me...just like you're inside someone else, Joey."

Tim was trying to follow what the words were. It was so hard to focus. He felt really drowsy still. He was trying to get his brain in gear, but it sure was hard to do so. It didn't help that he was pretty sure that what was being said didn't make sense.

"Danica...what's going on?"

The lights went out.

"Digital cameras don't capture the soul. You need the film to do it right."

"I'm...not Joey, Danica. I'm Tim. Remember?"

"They all said that, but I think Joey is trapped deep inside you. He was so kind, so wonderful. He said he loved to look at me...just like my dad did. It was so sad when Dad died, but I found him in Joey. Joey was perfect. He had two souls. Dad and his own. I lost Dad when Joey died, but Joey will be somewhere. He said he'd never leave me. He promised."

"Dani, please..."

"I hear you, Joey. I know you're in there. Tim was such a nice person. I'm sorry it took me so long to hear you. I didn't realize that you would be so close by. I thought I'd have to search harder."

"Please, let me go. I'm not Joey..." Tim tried to get up, but he couldn't.

"I'll get you out, Joey."

A red light came on. Tim could see Danica, but he couldn't get to her. He couldn't get away from her.

...but he could see photographs.

Lots of photographs.

Too many photographs.

"Oh...no..."

His drowsiness overcame him and his eyes slipped closed, even with the fear he felt. Then, she was close to him. He could feel her leaning over him.

"It will take time for the pictures to develop, but I'll do another test right now."

He felt her grab a hold of his hair, but surprisingly gently. It was a firm grip, though. Then, the snip of scissors.

_She cut some of my hair off. Why?_

"I'll be back, later, Joey. I can't stay here all day, not until I can let you out. Then, we'll be together forever. I'll just keep you calm. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

A prick on his arm.

Her presence was gone. Tim tried to sit up, but he couldn't. He started feeling foggy again.

His eyes closed.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Fornell headed up to Vance's office when he saw that Gibbs and company was UA. He was admitted fairly quickly.

"Agent Fornell, what brings you here?"

"You have a missing agent."

"Yes, I do. We're still trying to find the reason."

"I think I have the reason."

"Oh?" Vance's eyebrows went up.

"Sacks and I have been leading an FBI investigation into a serial killer. The first victim was was in New Hampshire, the second in New York. There have been two in the DC area, well, three as of this morning. ...and at about the same time as your man went missing, a body was found on a dock. Same m.o."

"You think that Agent McGee is the next victim?"

"I don't think we can run the risk of not investigating that possibility. Do you think there's another reason?"

"Possibly. Agent McGee was doing some work in MTAC, helping create a cipher. Some people would be very interested in getting their hands on this work."

"How widely known is McGee's involvement?"

"As far as I know, not at all...but again, we can't depend on that."

"What do you want to do?"

"I want to find him."

"These two angles will take us in different directions, Director Vance," Fornell said. "In your scenario, it's what McGee _knows_. In my scenario, it's who McGee is. How do you want to proceed?"

Vance thought about it.

"How confident are you that this is why McGee is missing?"

"As confident as I can be. He matches the descriptions of the other men who have been killed. He's from the same area where the first three disappeared. As soon as I heard he was missing, this is what made sense to me."

"Okay. You have to pursue your investigation as you see fit. I'll call Gibbs in and get his perspective. If you're right, how long does he have?"

"Two days, tops. Death is by phenobarbital overdose. One lock of hair cut off the head. No signs of other trauma."

"Phenobarbital. That's not what I would have expected."

"We know very little about who the killer is. We know the m.o., but why young men in their thirties? Why cut a lock of hair? What's the point? We don't know. Not yet. But it's personal. There's a reason. We just don't know it yet. Hopefully, if I'm right, we figure it out before Agent McGee becomes the next victim."

Fornell and Sacks left the office.

"Well?" Sacks asked.

"I'll call Gibbs, let him know. I don't think that Vance is right. I don't think this has anything to do with work McGee is doing."

"You're bypassing what Vance decided."

"No. Gibbs will still discuss it with Vance. I just want to make sure that he knows in advance."

"So...what now?"

"We find out where Gibbs is and get an update on what they know. We have to know what they know."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

They had spent more than three hours just talking with the other people in the building (or tracking them down at their places of employment)...only to find that they all had no idea what had happened to Tim. It was a small building and they all knew each other to some degree, but, in general, they weren't close friends by any means.

She had no evidence to back her up, but Ziva's mind kept returning to Danica. She was so conveniently there. Conveniently on the scene, conveniently had seen Tim but didn't know where he was now.

"Yo! Earth to Ziva! Earth, calling Ziva!"

Ziva jumped and looked over at Tony.

"What?"

"I asked you about a million times if we were going to head back to NCIS now. You might as well have been in orbit for all the notice you were taking."

"I was thinking."

"Well, can you think and drive at the same time?" Tony asked. "Or can I drive instead?"

"It is my turn to drive."

"Yeah."

Tony's phone started ringing. Ziva grinned and got in the car. Tony just answered.

"DiNozzo. Yeah, Boss? Sure. Okay. We'll be there in ten minutes. Yes, Ziva's driving."

He hung up.

"What is it?"

"Fornell has something for us. Gibbs wants us back ASAP...but he said not to kill us on the way."

"I have never killed anyone in my car...except when I meant to."

"Yeah, yeah." Tony braced himself as Ziva took off.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"Man, I wish you were just crazy, Fornell," Tony said.

"Who says I'm not, DiNozzo?" Fornell said.

"How sure are you of this, Tobias?" Gibbs asked.

"I can't be positive about anything, but I didn't just expect you to take my word for it. We brought our information along. Sacks."

Sacks walked over to Tim's desk, inserted a flash drive and then shot the data up on the screen.

"These are the first five victims."

"Five?" Tony asked. "I thought it was four."

"Number five was found this morning, near the river. Part of the maintenance crew saw someone trying to dump the body and he or she ran after he shouted at them."

The five men didn't look exactly alike, but they all had a similar build, similar coloring.

"Their backgrounds aren't the same at all, but the three here in DC all lived in or near Silver Spring. The other two were found along a route that could lead to DC. Why DC and will this person move on? I don't know. All I know is that Agent McGee easily fits in with these other victims and if I'm right, you have maybe a day or two at the most to find him."

"What's Vance got to say about this?" Tony asked.

"He wants to cover his bases, but he's going to leave it up to Gibbs to decide how you proceed. I'll be doing what I've been doing, treating Agent McGee's disappearance as the next victim."

"Boss?"

Gibbs was staring thoughtfully at the images on the screen. Then, he ran up the stairs to Vance's office.

"Agent Fornell?" Ziva asked.

"What is it, Agent David?"

"I know of someone who has recently moved into the Silver Spring area within the time frame you have given us."

Tony clued in almost immediately.

"What? Oh, come _on_, Ziva. That's a reach, at best! I saw her once. She's not going to be overwhelming McGee with her massive bulk."

"Who is it, Agent David?"

"A woman who lives in McGee's building," Ziva said, ignoring Tony completely. "He has been slightly infatuated with her. He met her the day she moved in, and he has spoken of her on occasion."

"She pretty?" Sacks asked.

"Gorgeous," Tony said. "I think Ziva's just jealous."

"No, that is not it, Tony!" Ziva said. "I have had a bad feeling about this woman, and I think she is a place to start."

"What's her name?" Fornell asked.

"Danica Laurence. She lives in the basement apartment."

Gibbs came back down to the bullpen.

"That didn't take long, Boss. What's the word?" Tony asked.

"We're working with you, Tobias. I think you're right."

"Vance okay with that?"

Gibbs just raised an eyebrow.

"All right. Agent David just suggested a possible suspect."

"And just for the record, Boss, I think our little Israeli here is letting jealousy get in the way."

"Jealousy?" Gibbs asked. "You dating McGee, Ziva?"

"No!" Ziva said. "And I am not Israeli any longer, Tony. I am an American citizen. If I am wrong, I will admit it. I have given a place to start."

"Then, get started," Gibbs said, gesturing.

Ziva was almost surprised at the easy capitulation. She nodded and hurried to her computer. She wouldn't waste any time. If she was wrong about Danica, then, the sooner she was eliminated as a suspect, the better.

At the same time, she couldn't help thinking about how much Tony's suggestion of jealousy had stung. In fact, the feeling had surprised her.

Still, she pushed the idea away. It was more important to find Tim than it was to analyze an irrational feeling.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

He opened his eyes again, and it was dark. Very dark. He had a hard time breathing, but he forced himself to push against whatever was holding him down. He had to take a lot of breaks because it was so tiring.

He kept trying, although he couldn't quite remember why he should be.

Suddenly, there was a popping sound and he was falling.

Not very far.

He hit the ground heavily and lay there for a while. He didn't know where he was going, but he figured it was a good idea to try and move.

A sound from behind him. He rolled over.

A red light.

"Joey, what are you doing? How did you get there?"

"Please...let...me go... Don't do this...to me," he begged.

"Joey, stop it."

"Not...Joey... Please..."

The dark shape moved away. Then, she was right beside him.

"You see? You're right there, Joey! I can see you. This is you. I just need to get you out."

"No...no..."

"It'll be soon. I just need to get back to my apartment and replenish my supplies. I thought I had enough here, but I don't."

"No..."

"I can't live without you, Joey. I won't. I've lived without you for too long...and I won't do it."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Ziva hung up the phone, sat back and looked at Gibbs.

"What is it, Ziva?"

"I have found information about Danica Laurence. It is...to use Abby's word...hinky."

"What's up?" Tony asked.

Ziva got up and walked over to the plasma. She brought up Danica's photo.

"Danica Laurence, born Danica Larson. She worked as a veterinary assistant before she was married. Mother died when she was two years old. Her father, Joseph Larson, died when she was twenty-one. She married Joseph Laurence at age twenty-three."

"Joseph Larson? Joseph Laurence? Close names," Tony said.

"Yes. I called Joseph Laurence's family. He died just a few months ago of an aneurysm. It was a shock for everyone. No indication that he had any problems. Apparently, the marriage was kind of shaky. Joseph's sister, Brinda Mellot, said that Danica had become extremely possessive. She showed no interest in anyone or anything but Joseph. He had told his sister he was worried about his wife. After he died, she sold the house and left. No one had any idea where she was until I called. ...and here is a photo of her father and of her husband."

Ziva clicked and brought up two pictures. Then, she added the photos of the dead men to the plasma.

"Oh, man," Tony said.

Again, they weren't an exact match, but it was a similar coloring, similar heights, similar builds.

"And that is not all."

"What else is there?"

"I found an old friend of Joseph Larson. He said that Joseph went a little weird after his wife died. He was devoted to his daughter."

"Anything inappropriate?" Gibbs asked.

"Not that he knew, and he said that he couldn't imagine his friend abusing his daughter, but he almost couldn't stand to let her go to school or to go to work himself. When his friend asked about it, Joseph said that he could see his wife in his daughter and that he wanted her to be as beautiful as his wife. He was an amateur photographer and had his own darkroom. All he would do was take pictures of his daughter."

"No porn?" Tony asked.

"No," Ziva said. "Not that his friend ever saw. It seemed to be an unhealthy obsession but he did not seem to be physically hurting his daughter."

Tony stared at the images on the screen.

"So we've got a woman who grew up as the obsession of her father. After he died, she became obsessed with a man who reminded her of her father. And after _he_ died..." He grimaced. "It looks like you were right, Ziva."

"Go find her," Gibbs said. "Bring her in. I'll call Fornell. You'll have a search authorization by the time you get there."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Ziva and Tony walked down to the basement apartment and knocked on the door.

"Danica Laurence! This is NCIS!" Tony said.

There was no reply. No sound of anyone inside. Tony looked at Ziva and raised his eyebrows in a silent question. Ziva bent over and picked the lock without hesitation. They moved into the apartment together.

"Danica Laurence! NCIS!"

No reply.

The apartment wasn't large, but it was clean and orderly. They moved through.

"Clear," Tony said in the kitchen.

"Clear," Ziva said after checking the bathroom.

All that was left was the bedroom. The door was closed. They walked over to the door, counted down silently and then opened it.

"Empty," Tony said. "She's not here."

"No, but we can still look. Maybe something will tell us where she is."

They did a quick walk through the apartment and then, Ziva noticed the jewelry box on the dresser. She walked over and opened it.

There was no jewelry in the box.

None at all.

"Tony. Look at this."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Danica was at the top of the stairs ready to go down when she heard them in her apartment. It was too late to get in. They were in her home! They were looking through her things! She was angry but now was not the time to confront them on their behavior. She would just have to hurry and get Joey out of Tim. Then, everyone would see what she had done and why. They would understand, then.

Quickly, she went back out to her car and drove away, relieved that she'd been forced to park down the street.

It wouldn't do to be found so soon.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

It shouldn't have been as horrific as it was. Really, it shouldn't. Tony had seen disgusting crime scenes before.

...but for some reason, those little tufts of hair, carefully tied with ribbon made him feel sick.

"Why is it always the pretty ones?" he muttered. "If you're going to be a psychopathic killer, can't you just be ugly?"

"I am sorry that we do not fit your ideals, Tony," Ziva said.

She opened one of the three drawers and saw the supply of ribbon. Then, she opened another small drawer and saw a different lock of hair. The third drawer had yet another lock of hair and a black and white picture of a young girl with the image of an older woman transposed over her.

"The young Danica Larson?" Tony asked.

"It would seem so."

Tony opened the drawer of the dresser. The top drawer had no clothes in it. It had a number of syringes, vials labeled as containing phenobarbital, latex gloves...and some bottles of chemicals: HC110 (Dilution E), Kodak Indicator Stop Bath, Kodafix fixing agent, Kodak Photo Flo 200.

"What's all this stuff?"

"Something to do with photographs, I would guess," Ziva said. "Kodak is a camera brand."

"Do you think she started taking pictures like her dad did?" Tony asked. "Does crazy just run in families or is this something she learned?"

"Perhaps it is both," Ziva said. "But I do see that she is likely our killer. Where would she get phenobarbital? And why that drug?"

"You said she was a vet, right?"

"An assistant."

"I think phenobarbital is used for dogs...isn't it?"

"I do not know," Ziva said. "Why ask me?"

"You know everything else," Tony said with a smile...but then, the smile vanished. "Do you think McGee is still alive?"

"I hope so. We will find him."

"Good. I like it when you're so sure," Tony said. "Let's get going on this place. Maybe Abby can work her magic and track the psycho down before she gets to work on McGee."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"I don't know if I'm magic enough, Gibbs," Abby said. "I mean...from what I've seen, these are common chemicals in developing film. There's nothing special about them! ...and if she has Tim...then..."

"Abby, you can do it," Gibbs said calmly. "Find something."

Abby looked distressed but she started trying to think.

"If she has all these chemicals. They're for developing film. Most people don't do that anymore. They use digital cameras. And...and there aren't going to be a lot of places where you can do that. You'd have to have your own darkroom! And it wasn't in her apartment! It would have to be somewhere else! She'd have to rent or buy a space somewhere! Oh, I wish Tim was here. He's so good at finding that stuff."

"Do your best, Abbs," Gibbs said.

He went back up to the bullpen. Fornell was getting off the phone...at Gibbs' desk. Ducky was sitting at Tim's desk, waiting for information.

"Okay. So Sacks has been checking with our people up in Massachusetts. They double-checked with the ME who did the autopsy on Joseph Laurence."

"And?" Gibbs asked.

"And no sign of foul play. When a guy in his thirties seems to have a stroke, they check it pretty carefully. Definitely no phenobarbital. From what they can tell, the guy just died."

"And triggered a psychotic episode in a clearly-disturbed young woman," Ducky added. "That must have been the key. She grew up seeing love illustrated only as obsession. The information Ziva gathered shows a woman who knows how to show affection only by single-minded devotion to one person."

Fornell nodded. "Sacks says that her neighbors never really got to know her. She did everything for her husband and didn't seem to have much of a personality even, when he was gone. They didn't like her because she seemed cold."

"She is a very lovely woman, taught that she held her mother inside her. Reading about her father, I would guess that he had some kind of mental breakdown, for which he was never treated. Growing up in that situation? It would warp any mind."

"And now she's killing people because they look like her husband?"

"She may not even be thinking of it that way," Ducky said. "I don't know what her perspective might be, but when one becomes psychotic, what makes sense in the real world has no bearing. This may make sense to her in a way that seems insane to us."

"Well, multiple murders doesn't indicate sanity to me, Ducky," Fornell said.

"No. Clearly, she is not in her right mind. What I'm saying is that her actions don't indicate sociopathic tendencies. I think it's psychopathic. It may not change your approach to finding her, but this isn't someone who is ignoring social cues. There's a misfire in what she sees as being right."

"Is McGee alive or dead right now?" Gibbs asked.

"She will keep him alive until she is satisfied that he can't give her what she's looking for. She found a husband to replace her father. Her husband died. She needs to replace him and so far, she hasn't found who she wants."

Gibbs' phone rang. ...and so did Fornell's. They both answered.

"_Boss, we just caught sight of Laurence. You want us to take her or see where she goes? ...oh, and Sacks didn't trust us and he's calling Fornell."_

Gibbs rolled his eyes. That particular mutual dislike was a little irritating at times.

"Stay with her," he said, looking significantly at Fornell.

Fornell nodded in agreement.

"Stay with her, Sacks...and stop circumventing DiNozzo. You have work _with_ NCIS. So knock it off. They want to find their man."

Gibbs grinned.

"Don't lose her, DiNozzo."

"_No way, Boss."_

"And when she gets to where she's going, you had better call for backup."

"_Will do, Boss. Promise."_

"Okay. Get on it."

Gibbs hung up and looked at Fornell and Ducky.

"We'll have to see what they find."

They had to wait.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"There she goes," Tony said. "Sacks, you going to take your own car or stay with us?"

"I'm not getting out of the car and drawing her attention, DiNozzo. Go."

Ziva looked at Tony. Now was not the time to razz Sacks.

Tony smiled and casually pulled out into traffic behind Danica. She drove without haste. She didn't seem to realize they were back there.

She drove away from Silver Spring and toward Langley Park.

After a few minutes, she pulled up at an old storefront and parked. Tony continued beyond, moving around the corner before finding a place to park.

"Sacks, you'd better go and see what building she goes into. She's met both Ziva and me before," Tony said.

Ziva was glad that Tony was back into business mode...and she was relieved that Sacks followed suit. He nodded and got out of the car, walked around the corner and headed for wherever Danica had gone.

"You think he'll tell us?"

"Yes," Ziva said. "He was clearly told off by Fornell. He will do his job."

"Yeah. I hate to wait, though."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Sacks walked down the sidewalk, keeping an eye on Danica, to see where she was going. He paused at a store display, feigning interest in used clothing.

Danica walked by him and to a door about fifty feet from him. She unlocked the door and went inside. Sacks pulled out his phone.

"DiNozzo, she's gone in. You want to see what she's doing in there now?"

"_Gotta call Gibbs over first. What's the address?"_

Sacks gave the address and then hung up. Tony and Ziva came around the corner about two minutes later.

"Gibbs said to wait," Tony said. "Once he and Fornell get here, we're going in."

"They don't think it'll be too late?"

"Guess not."

"Okay."

Tony and Ziva went around to the back to make sure she didn't slip out another way. Sacks stayed out front to wait for Gibbs and Fornell to get there.

Five minutes. That's all it took. For not the first time, Sacks wondered if Gibbs could bend space and time. He seemed to cover distances in no time at all.

"She's still inside?"

"DiNozzo and David gave no indication that she'd tried to leave from the back."

"Okay."

Gibbs called back to Tony and Ziva.

"We're moving in two minutes. Be in place."

He hung up and they walked to the door. Sacks pulled out his gun, as did Gibbs and Fornell.

Thirty seconds.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The red light came on again. Tim decided he hated that red light. He preferred the complete darkness. He couldn't see the pictures when the lights were off. He still felt terribly slow and breathless. He had no energy. He had been returned to the same place he'd been restrained before only the restraints were tighter than before. They kind of hurt now.

More blinding flashes in his eyes.

"Dad showed me the first picture he had taken after Mom died. She was there inside me. He said that pictures showed the souls of people. Mom's soul was inside me. So that Dad didn't have to be alone without her. He never wanted me to leave. He didn't want to go to work. We got a lot of money from Mom dying. He stopped working after a while and just stayed with me. He took a lot of pictures, but Mom never showed up in me again. When Dad died, I looked and looked, and I found Joey. He was wonderful. When he died...I realized that photos only show you the soul. They don't _release_ the soul. That takes more. If Dad had known, he could have released Mom through me...just like I'm about to release you, Joey."

Tim was really having a hard time following what Danica was saying to him, but his mind kept skipping around. He just wanted to go to sleep again, but something told him that he shouldn't.

"No...Danica...I'm not Joey. I'm Tim. There's...no one else inside me. You just...have to let me go. It'll...be okay if you..." Tim lost his train of thought and couldn't remember what he was saying. He was falling asleep again. "Please...no..."

Danica leaned over him and stroked his face. Tim could just see the smile on her face.

"It won't be long now, Joey."

Tim tried to push her away. He didn't know what she was going to do, but he knew that it wasn't a good thing, no matter _what_ it was.

"You're...a murderer...Dani," he said, desperate to stop her. "That's...not...what I want."

"It's the only way, Joey."

"I would...never want you to kill someone...for me. You're...betraying who I...I am..." Tim whispered. It was getting hard to breathe, hard to stay awake. "I hate...you."

"NO! No, Joey! Don't say that! Never say that!" Danica screamed at him.

The shift from calm and loving to shrill fury was surprising, even in Tim's current befuddled state.

"I need you!"

"I hate you," Tim said again.

She screamed at him again, so angry that she didn't even have words.

Suddenly, there was burst of sound, unintelligible words...and a shaft of light...real light. Real light. Tim got a brief glimpse of Danica's face and it terrified him. The insanity that the red light had hidden from him blazed out from her eyes.

"No!" she screamed again and launched out of his view.

Tim tried to focus, but even with the lovely light he could see, there was too much going on for him to follow anything.

"I won't lose him again!"

A gunshot.

Then, Danica was back, leaning over him. She had a smile on her face, the insanity tempered by something else in her eyes. He couldn't do anything, but she reached down and kissed him.

"I love you, Joey," she whispered.

Then, she slipped out of his view and Tim was left alone, his eyes falling closed.

...but not for long. Someone was touching him.

"No..." he mumbled. "No...please..."

"McGee, it's okay. It's Tony. You hear me?"

"Where...what happened?" he asked.

"Nothing. You're okay. You're going to be fine."

There were other hands touching him and the restraints disappeared. He tried to sit up, but he couldn't.

"So...tired..." he whispered. "Tired..."

"Let's keep him awake."

The voice was disembodied, and Tim didn't know who it was.

"Ziva, come and help me get him up."

Another shape beside him. Tim felt like he was floating up into the air. Hands on his back, holding him.

"Just sit there for a minute, Probie. Get your bearings."

Tim felt his head start lolling around. He didn't feel like he had any control over it. ...and he was still so tired.

"Hard to...breathe," he said. "Still...tired..."

"You will be fine, McGee."

Tim shied away from the female voice.

"No...not...please...no..."

"It's not Danica, McGee," Tony's voice said. "It's Ziva."

Tim tried to look at Tony. He was smiling.

"Not me. Ziva's over there."

A hand turned his head around. Tim forced his eyes open and he was looking into another pair of eyes. Not blue, not purple. They were dark brown. Brown eyes.

"Brown...eyes..."

"Yes, Tim. I have brown eyes."

"Better..." Tim said. "...so...tired."

His head fell back again.

"Man, brace his head, Ziva. He's going to snap it clean off. Boss, can't we get him out of here? He must have a lot of the stuff in his system."

"Ambulance is on its way."

Something was really important for him to say. Tim tried to think of what it was as voices continued to talk all around him.

"Don't...wanna...get...another picture," he mumbled, finally. "Not...Joey..."

"Huh?"

"Tim, what do you mean?"

Tim was losing the battle with consciousness.

"No soul...for...can't..."

"Tim, stay awake, please."

"Don't want...the red light...no more...red..." Tim said.

"Okay. That's fine, Probie."

"My soul...not..."

Tim couldn't fight the tiredness anymore. He fell asleep.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"He's out, Boss," Tony said.

Ziva held Tim up as he sagged back in their arms. He had no obvious wounds. He had a chunk of hair cut off his head, leaving an almost-bald patch. Otherwise, they knew that he had likely been given an overdose of phenobarbital. The question was how much. Since Tim was still alive...

"You are still bleeding, Tony," Ziva said.

Tony grimaced and wiped at the scratches on his arm.

The EMTs arrived a couple of minutes later and took Tim to the hospital. Relieved of the responsibility of watching Tim, they all turned their attention to the darkroom.

...and to Danica Laurence's body.

When they had come in, she had freaked out and attacked Tony, scratching his arm, knocking his gun out of his hand before Gibbs and Fornell had shot her.

Given what they were now seeing, it might be the best thing. What they were seeing was the sure sign of insanity.

The walls were covered with black-and-white photos of the victims. All restrained, all with varying degrees of confusion and fear in their eyes. There were some of Tim. In most of them, he seemed completely out of it.

"Who's going to deal with her?" Fornell asked. "NCIS or the FBI? It's our serial killer, but it's your agent. What do you want to do about it, Gibbs?"

Gibbs looked at Danica. A woman who had apparently gone completely nuts. Did she deserve to die? Who knew what had been going through her head? But she had obviously killed multiple men. ...and appeared to be about to add Tim to the list.

Did he really care about wrangling for position right now? His agent had almost been killed. If it had been any other situation, a random Navy man, he might fight for possession. ...but in this case...

"Your case," he said and then smiled grimly. "You can deal with this. I'll tell Vance. You can make a request for everything we have."

Fornell nodded.

"Sacks, call McKenna. Get him over here and we'll want a whole team on this...place."

Even Fornell seemed at a loss for words, and Sacks didn't seem inclined to make any jokes about Tony's scratches or anything like that. It might come later, but not now.

"Do you want to be a part of any of this?" Sacks asked Gibbs.

"Maybe later."

"Let me know how it goes," Fornell said. "We'll need a statement from him, of course, but it can wait...since the suspect is dead. You'll need to make a statement, too, Gibbs."

"Understood. Later."

"Yeah. Later."

Gibbs looked at Tony and Ziva. "Let's go."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

They had to wait for a while when they got to the hospital. Tony had his scratches looked at and tested to make sure there wasn't anything unexpected on Danica's nails. Human fingernails were often rather dirty and infection was common. So Tony had a bandage on his arm, covering the evidence of Danica's attack.

"How long will it take before we can see him?" Ziva asked.

"As long as it takes," Gibbs said.

Ziva felt uncommonly anxious to see Tim, to make sure he was all right, after seeing him brought so low...so close to death. The syringe they'd found had not contained phenobarbital. It had been the developing chemicals. That was different and they had no way of knowing why Danica had been planning on changing her m.o. in killing Tim. Thankfully, she hadn't had the chance.

"Agent Gibbs?"

They all stood up when the doctor came into the waiting room.

"How is he?" Gibbs asked.

"He's sleeping. We have him on oxygen to make up for the lowered gas exchange. He's going to be under observation until the phenobarbital clears out. He has quite a bit in his blood. He's hypotensive and that also requires some checks. You can go and see him right now, but he probably won't wake up while you're there."

They went back to the ICU. Except for the monitors and the nasal cannula, Tim really did look like he was just sleeping. It was a deep sleep, yes, but he was breathing in and out.

"McGee must have the worst luck in the world," Tony said. "He was even careful this time."

"It is not his fault that he wanted to help another person," Ziva said with more anger than she had expected. "That is a _good_ thing about him, not a flaw."

"I didn't say it was, Ziva. I said he had bad luck," Tony retorted. "And he does. He said he was joining a monastery after the South African chick. After this? He's liable to spend the rest of his life on a mountain top."

"No. He will not give up so easily."

"Easily?"

"This isn't important right now," Gibbs said, interrupting them both.

They fell silent and sat beside Tim while he slept. It was a long wait, but eventually, he did start to stir. He was still asleep, but he was clearly a little bothered. He made some noises and twitched a little.

"Tim?" Ziva asked softly.

He twitched again. Ziva reached out and took Tim's hand.

"You are safe, Tim," she said. "It is all right. You are safe."

His eyes opened for a moment. He looked at his hand...and then his eyes closed.

Tim twitched a few more times and then calmed and stilled. His heart rate slowed down and he was asleep again.

"Nicely done, Agent David," Tony said.

"I did my best," Ziva said.

"Good. Then, when Tim wakes up, you can tell him what happened...because he's not going to be happy about it."

Ziva smiled ruefully. "We did not help matters, either. Hopefully, he will listen."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tim woke up off and on over the next day. He seemed to be regaining all his faculties, and if he was more than a little reserved...well, that was to be expected. He'd snap out of it eventually.

...wouldn't he?


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Fornell smiled encouragingly as Tim shifted uncomfortably. He had offered to come in and give his statement almost as soon as he'd been released from the hospital. Fornell had told him he could wait, but Tim had said he wanted to get it over with.

"I appreciate your coming in, Agent McGee."

"Yeah. I can't tell you a lot of details. I was pretty out of it most of the time."

"I understand. Since Danica Laurence was killed, we don't have a court case, but we need to have all the information we can."

"Right."

"Why don't you just start at the beginning? How did she get to you?"

Tim sighed.

"She was sitting out on the steps of the building. She looked pretty upset about something. I asked her and she said that things weren't working out how she'd thought. I offered to talk with her, let her get some of the frustration out. She agreed. We went to a bar. She said she was looking for someone who had left her."

"Her husband, Joseph Laurence."

Tim nodded. "She didn't tell me that, but yeah."

"Go on."

"We had a drink and then she bought the next round and I started feeling sick and dizzy."

"She must have drugged your drink."

Tim cleared his throat and nodded again. He was definitely uncomfortable with this.

"We can do this later, McGee," Fornell said. "You're not required to talk about all this as soon you're back in your own place."

"No. It's fine," Tim said quickly. "I passed out at some point. She drove me somewhere and strapped me to a table or something. The next thing I knew I was alone in the dark...until she came back. She took a lot of pictures of me. She said that..." He stopped and stared at the table. "She said that Joey was inside of me and she had to let him out."

Fornell blinked a few times in surprise. That sounded a lot like what Danica's father had apparently said about her.

"Did she say how she was going to do that?"

"Not that I remember, but she was going to kill me. I guess that was going to do it. Photos show the real soul of someone but she figured out that she could release the soul...by killing me. Joey was like me, she said. He was...anyway, she said that her mom's soul was inside her but her dad never knew how to release her. She cut off...some of my hair."

Tim's hand rubbed at the spot where his hair was missing.

"I don't know what order all that goes in. It's so fuzzy in my head. I just remember those pieces." He shrugged. "I don't know which came first."

"It's all right. Anything else?"

"I started to get away once, but it was so hard to move and she came back again. I didn't get very far. She put me back on the table again."

"That you could even _think_ about getting away with the drugs in your system...that's pretty impressive, McGee."

Tim just shrugged.

"I really can't tell you anything else. I had no idea where I was, why she picked me. I didn't know what she was giving me until after. All that stuff she said...it made no sense to me. I didn't know why she was cutting off my hair."

His hand moved up to the patch again.

"That's all right, McGee. All we want is what you have. You've given us what we needed. So...how are you doing?"

Another meaningless shrug.

"Really, McGee. Head all cleared out and everything?"

"Yeah. I just have..." Yet another shrug.

"You seeing a shrink?"

"Yeah. Mandatory."

"Is it helping?"

"I'm sure it will eventually. Right now?" And another shrug.

"Well, you know you can talk to people if you need to...and while I know I'm probably not on your list, you can put me there if you want."

Tim stood up.

"Thanks, Agent Fornell. They tell me it'll just take time. That's all. If you need anything else, let me know."

"Will do."

Tim let himself out of the room, leaving Fornell to look at his notes. Tim wasn't fine yet. That was clear. He was still upset about what had happened and that was completely understandable. Being taken in and almost killed was not a situation anyone wanted to be in.

Still, he hoped that Tim would adjust to it sooner rather than later.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

_Three days later..._

Tim was in his apartment, sitting on his bed, Jethro drooling helpfully on his leg. The TV was on, but Tim wasn't paying attention to it at all. He was going over and over what had happened. How was it possible that he had been taken in yet _again_? What was it about him that made him such a sap?

He sighed heavily. He would be better off _really_ joining a monastery than he was trying to function out in the real world again. He couldn't believe how stupid he'd been. And what was worse was that he couldn't even see where he'd gone wrong. He had been careful. He hadn't put himself forward. He'd just been nice and that was it.

_And that was one of the reasons she said Joey was inside me. Nice guys really do finish last,_ Tim thought to himself.

There was a knock on the door. Jethro lifted his head hopefully. His tail started wagging and he looked at Tim.

Tim just sighed and leaned back to stare at the ceiling. He didn't want to talk to anyone right now. He had no interest in any well-meaning attempts to make him feel better about something that couldn't possibly be improved.

Yet another woman had not only not been interested in him, she had tried to kill him...and had almost succeeded.

Another knock.

"Tim, it is Ziva!"

Jethro jumped to his feet and panted at Tim. He recognized the voice. Tim grimaced. He definitely didn't want to see Ziva. Ziva who had warned him over and over about Danica. Nope.

More knocking.

"Tim, I am not leaving!"

Tim sighed in exasperation and got up. He walked to the door and opened it. He stood in the opening and didn't let Ziva in.

"What do you want, Ziva?"

"I wanted to see how you are doing. You have not spoken to anyone at NCIS since you gave your statement to Fornell."

"I'm fine. You can report on that to everyone else. Okay?"

Tim started to close the door, but Ziva put out her hand and stopped him.

"Wait, Tim. You are _not_ fine."

"Oh, so you're right about that, too? You know everything else, why not how I _really_ am?"

Ziva's face scrunched up in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

Tim rolled his eyes and walked away from the door. He left it open, allowing Ziva to come in. She did, following him back to his bedroom.

"Tim, what did you mean?"

Tim turned around.

"I mean that I'm sick and tired of misjudging every person who comes into my sphere of existence. I'm sick and tired of having people like _you_ and Tony telling me what a huge mistake I'm making and then having _you_ be right! I'm sick and tired of being taken advantage of. I'm sick and tired of being the one who can't seem to manage his own life. _That's_ what I mean, Ziva! You were right about her, okay? She was not only _not_ a nice person, she was insane and tried to kill me! How many times will that happen?" He forced a laugh. "You know what? It's never going to happen again because I have no interest in ever dealing with this kind of situation again. I'm done."

"Done?"

"Yes. Done. It's over. Finished. I'm throwing in the towel. I'm giving up. I'm not going to _ever_ try and date again. You and Tony have taken great joy in pointing out how bad I am at choosing someone. I'm finally agreeing with you and I'm not going to do it again."

He let out a loud exhalation and sat down on his bed. Jethro came up and nuzzled him.

"See? Even Jethro knows how pitiful I am."

Ziva came over and sat beside him.

"You are not pitiful, Tim. I never would have imagined that she would have been a killer."

"You still told me not to be so eager."

"But you did everything right, Tim. You _were_ careful and you took your time. Her actions could not have been anticipated."

"Right."

"No, really, Tim."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Are you angry or are you still afraid?"

Tim felt more annoyed by the fact that Ziva could tell there was more to his rudeness than anger. He didn't want to get into that.

"Look, I have to talk about this stuff to my shrink. I don't need another therapist, Ziva."

Ziva was being extremely patient.

"I was not offering to be a therapist. I was offering to be a friend, Tim. I think you need friends, but you are avoiding us. None of us blame you for what happened."

"I know."

"Then, why? Do _you_ blame yourself?"

He got to his feet and faced away from her.

"Maybe...because I hate what happened, Ziva. She was going to kill me so that she could find her dead husband inside me. ...and she kissed me right before she died. It's embarrassing. It's humiliating. It's..."

"Frightening?" Ziva suggested.

"I was just trying to be friendly," Tim said, avoiding any agreement. "That's all. If something more had come of it, I would have been happy to see, but I was just trying to be nice."

"That is a good thing, Tim."

"Not when it led to me almost being killed."

There was a long silence. Long enough that Tim looked at Ziva again. She was looking more uncertain than he had expected. It was enough to cool his anger at the situation.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"There is something that I wanted to tell you, but I was not sure if I should."

"What?" Tim asked.

"The night that...that Danica took you. I called and asked you to dinner."

"Yeah, so?" Tim asked, choosing to focus on Jethro.

"Well...I was...not just asking you to join all of us."

"What were you asking then?"

"To join...me."

Tim looked at Ziva in confusion.

"What?"

Ziva looked awkward.

"I was asking you to join me. I was asking you to dinner."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to spend time with you. Because I missed that...and I will admit that I was feeling a little jealous."

"Jealous? Of who?"

"Danica."

"What?"

"You were interested in her and because you were embarrassed about it...you stopped spending time with us. I missed you. I had...decided that...that I was going to talk to you and...and so I called."

It was now Ziva's turn to look at Jethro instead of Tim. She petted the dog gently and he licked at her hand. Tim felt like the conversation had taken a strange turn into a whole different area.

"Ziva?"

"Yes?"

"What just happened here?"

She laughed a little and met his gaze. He was struck again by how different her eyes were from Danica's. The warm dark brown instead of the deep blue. The comparison reminded him of what had happened and he felt uncomfortable with what was being said. He looked away.

"I confessed that I like you, Tim. That is what happened."

"Why? Why right now when I'm...not really in the mood for...anything, especially not that."

"Because I am afraid that how you feel now is all you will let yourself feel. That would be wrong because you are such a good person, Tim. You deserve a lot more than that. If this is not the time, there is no pressure to answer me."

To Tim's surprise, Ziva reached out her hand toward him.

"I want to help you if I can," she said.

Tim sat down and let her take his hand. Something about her expression loosened his resistence to acknowledging how he felt.

"I am...still afraid," he said softly. "I don't want to be taken in again."

"I understand."

"I just don't get why this keeps happening."

"I do not know the answer to that."

"I don't, either. I hate it. I was so sure that I was careful...but it wasn't enough. Really, Ziva, the only logical solution seems to be to give up."

Ziva squeezed his hand.

"No. You cannot give up."

"Why not?"

She smiled.

"Because I told Tony that you would never give up. I do not want to be wrong."

Tim laughed and then sighed.

"Ziva...I appreciate it, but right now..."

"You have other worries. I do not mind. Do you want to be alone? I can leave."

Tim thought about it. Sitting alone, staring at the ceiling, or having company to distract him from what had happened. It wasn't a tough choice.

"No. Not really."

"Then, if you would like, I will stay."

"I'd like that."

Ziva's smile widened.

"Good."

She didn't seem to mind not talking. Tim sat back on the bed and Ziva sat beside him. He turned the TV back on and they sat together.

After a few minutes, Tim fell asleep.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Ziva woke up when she felt movement and heard sounds. She sat up and realized that she had fallen asleep on Tim's bed.

...and Tim was having something of a nightmare. He wasn't speaking. He was just reacting to...something.

"Tim, wake up. It is all right."

Tim was tossing and turning. His eyes opened slightly but then fell closed again. He kept making sounds. Ziva held Tim and tried to guide him back to consciousness.

"It is a dream, a nightmare. It is not real, Tim. Wake up."

Tim's eyes opened again and it took a few seconds for him to register where he was and who was with him. ...and he gradually realized that he was lying on his bed with Ziva's arms around him. She could tell the moment he was fully aware. He stiffened and sat up, pulling away from her.

"What time is it?" he asked, awkwardly.

Ziva looked at the clock.

"Three in the morning. I fell asleep, too."

Tim cleared his throat and swallowed.

"Um...oh..."

Ziva smiled.

"You were having a nightmare?"

"Yeah."

"Does that happen to you a lot?"

"No...yeah. Most nights. But I usually get back to sleep, too."

"I was not criticizing, Tim. I am just concerned."

"Sorry. This wasn't what I was...expecting to see. I guess."

Ziva could see that Tim wasn't going to relax with her there, not now that he realized they had been, in effect, sleeping together...even if that was _all _they had been doing. She got up off the bed.

"I hope that I will see you back at work soon," she said.

"I should be...soon."

Tim got up, too.

"I know the way out, Tim."

"It's not polite to let a guest leave on their own," Tim said, trying to sound at least a little less embarrassed.

They walked to the door. Ziva opened it.

"Hey...Ziva?"

She turned back.

"Yes?"

"Thanks for...coming by...and...not letting me just be a jerk."

Ziva laughed a little.

"You were upset. I understand."

"It's no excuse," Tim said.

Ziva patted Tim on the cheek.

"No, it is a reason, and I understand."

"Thanks."

Ziva turned to leave again.

"Ziva?"

She looked back.

"Yes?"

"About what you said before...uh..."

"Yes?"

"Maybe in a few weeks...maybe you could try asking again."

"Are you sure?"

Tim smiled weakly. "Just promise you won't try to kill me."

Ziva leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"I would never."

Then, she left the apartment with a ridiculous smile on her face.


	10. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

_One month later..._

Tim walked into his apartment and tossed his keys on the counter. Jethro was waiting patiently. The dog walker must have done a good job today.

"How's it going, huh, Jethro?"

Jethro barked at him.

"You're on your best behavior, aren't you. Did you see the new neighbor? How is he?"

Another bark.

"Okay, okay. I'll take you out. I don't even have to talk to the guy if I don't want to."

The new tenant in the basement apartment was an older widower, but Tim was still uncomfortable talking to him. Actually, he was still awkward with most people, but he was getting better and they had been very understanding.

He got his clothes changed and took Jethro out for a quick run. When he got back into his apartment, his phone was ringing. He answered it as quickly as he could.

"This is Tim."

"_Hello, Tim. Has it been long enough?"_

"Ziva?"

He could hear the smile in her voice.

"_Yes. Has it been long enough? Can I ask you again?"_

Tim had to think what she meant, but then he remembered and he flushed.

"_Tim?"_

"Yeah?"

"_Can I ask you?"_

"Uh...sure, okay."

"_Would you like to join me for dinner?"_

Tim swallowed. He really felt awkward about this, but it wasn't like he didn't know Ziva at all.

"Uh...when?"

"_Tonight?"_

"Uh...okay."

"_That does not sound very enthusiastic."_

"Yes. Yes, Ziva, I'd love to have dinner with you."

"_Good. I will come to your place in an hour."_

"Okay. Great. See you then."

Tim hung up and looked at Jethro.

"Well...Jethro... I guess I have a date."

FINIS!


End file.
